The dialogue between the caretaker government and BNP yesterday ended inconclusively with both sides agreeing to meet again to resolve differences on issues like lifting of the state of emergency and constituency re-demarcation.

Agriculturists and farmers of the northern districts are finally seeing some hope of defeating monga, a recurrent near famine situation with wholesale unemployment, as harvest of the newly developed early harvestable rice varieties, cultivated in greater Rangpur this aman season, has already begun.

A month after the milk scandal in China, Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI) is still unable to confirm or deny the presence of industrial chemical melamine in formulas available in the market.

A High Court (HC) bench yesterday felt embarrassed to entertain a petition filed by former prime minister and BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia for quashing the proceedings against her in Barapukuria coal mine graft case.

The High Court yesterday deferred until October 19 the hearing on two writ petitions filed by Awami League President Sheikh Hasina for quashing the proceedings of Niko and barge-mounted power plant corruption cases against her.

Awami League (AL) submits it application for registration with the Election Commission (EC) today with a renewed call on EC to withdraw its authority to cancel candidatures in parliamentary polls on grounds of violation of electoral laws.

Bangladesh lost a golden opportunity to score a series victory over a major Test-playing nation as New Zealand clinched the three-match Brac Bank ODI series 2-1 with a comprehensive 79-run win here at the Chittagong Divisional Stadium yesterday.

The World Bank (WB) will do its best to immediately operationalise the multi-donor trust fund for climate change and mobilise resources for the fund, including those from the bank's newly established climate investment funds.

The Philippine Supreme Court threw out yesterday a proposed accord to grant minority Muslims expanded autonomy after Christian protests and renewed fighting convinced the government to abandon the deal.

Editorial

Lately we have heard many disparate assessments as to the effect the global financial crisis will have on Bangladesh from various think tanks, private individuals, trade bodies, and members of the care-taker government.

The government's directive to students not to enroll in illegal private universities and colleges sounds rather queer and amusing. It shall not be responsible, the education ministry also says, for any adverse consequences of enrolling in those so-called institutions should anyone choose to disregard the advisory.

JAMIRUDDIN Sircar was passionate in his defence of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party a few weeks ago. That was quite natural, given that the BNP has been his political base for as long as anyone can recall. It is in his interest, and in the interest of other BNP-wallahs, to be reassured about the party's future, especially as a party of government, when the general elections take place.

PAKISTAN President Asif Ali Zardari's visit to Beijing from October 14-17 for talks with the Chinese leadership will not go unnoticed by India. News of Mr. Zardari's visit came as the president paid his first visit to the National Command Authority that controls nuclear warheads.

Bangladesh captain Mohammad Ashraful apologised for playing an ill-timed scoop shot which he believed turned the tide away from the home side and ultimately cost them the three-match one-day series against New Zealand at the Chittagong Divisional Stadium yesterday.

Cricket fans here turned up in their hundreds anticipating something special from the Tigers in the hundredth one-day international on Bangladesh soil. But they had to leave the purpose-built venue with a broken heart after enduring the twin pains of a heavy defeat and the scorching heat.

IMPRESSIVE FIELDINGOne of the major positives that can be picked from the third ODI of the Brac Bank Series yesterday was definitely the Tigers' fielding. It was highly impressive, thanks to the timely reflex of the Bangladeshi fielders and their accurate throwing to the stumps. The fielders particularly excelled as far as the 'direct throw' was concerned, for which the Kiwis were forced to stumble to the crease on several occasions to stop themselves from being run-out. The Tigers' commitment in the fielding was quite evident there.

Veteran Sanath Jayasuriya, with his trademark big-hitting, and newboy Ajantha Mendis, delving into his bag of bewildering spin tricks, led Sri Lanka to a five-wicket victory over Pakistan in the Canada Twenty20 final here on Monday.

Coach Fabio Capello must rejig his defence as England head to Belarus for Wednesday's World Cup qualifier with John Terry and Ashley Cole both out of action while Germany have doubts over Michael Ballack in their fixture against Wales.

A brace by Ugandan import Idris Kasirye propelled Rahmatganj to come from a goal down and comprehensively beat visiting Khulna Abahani 3-1 at the Bangabandhu National Stadium in yesterday's Citycell B. League match.

Sevilla's Mali international Frederic Kanoute, who tore his right calf against Chad in an African World Cup qualifier at the weekend, will be out of action for at least three weeks, the Spanish first division club said.

Opening batsman Seren Waters and his skipper Steve Tikolo will look to cement their partnership Tuesday after helping Kenya claw its way back into contention on the third day of the ICC Intercontinental Cup match.

The United States was to inject up to 250 billion dollars in capital into banks yesterday in the latest bid to end the financial crisis, officials said as forecasters warned two key European economies risked recession.

Bangladesh apparel-industry leaders yesterday unveiled an ambitious export target of US $ 25 billion and additional 2 million jobs in next five years, keeping well in mind the impacts of possible long-term recession following the recent global financial crisis.

Bangladesh Bank will wait for a suitable timing to reinvest the “now absolutely protected” foreign currency reserves it earlier diverted to safe deposits, mostly with the central banks of other countries, in the wake of global financial crisis.

With lower tariff of industrial plots and an atmosphere free from labour unrest, the export processing zones (EPZs) in the western region of the country offer a good prospect for labour intensive industries, the Bepza executive chairman told a visiting Taiwanese team in the port city yesterday.

The National Board of Revenue (NBR) chairman yesterday said from now tax commissioners will go to upazila level, and offices will be opened at all district headquarters as well as 100 big upazilas in a bid to come close to the taxpayers.

What a difference a week can make! Only the other day it seems one could not throw a brick in a room full of economists without hitting someone who was touting the 'decoupling theory' where the remarkable economic growth in the unfortunately named BRIC countries -Brazil, Russia, India and China- along with emerging powerhouses such as Vietnam and Indonesia would more than compensate slowing economic growth in Europe, USA and Japan.

Beximco Pharmaceuticals Ltd, the country's leading manufacturer of medicine, has commenced exports to Chile after receiving marketing authorisation for a number of products from the drug regulatory authority of the Latin American country.

Isn't interest a curse?The truth is that the global financial system is simply crumbling. This is the horrifying truth whether we like it or not and it is only due to manmade financial systems that this financial meltdown has occurred.

Chittagong City Corporation (CCC) Mayor ABM Mohiuddin Chowdhury yesterday said Awami League (AL) is an election-oriented party and it will take part in the election even if the polls are held under the state of emergency.

KFC and Pizza Hut have launched the World Hunger Relief Campaign in association with the World Food Programme (WFP) to raise wider awareness about hunger and support the WFP to provide meals to children in schools in order to help ensure that they complete basic education.

Awami League Joint general secretary Obaidul Kader, now in New Delhi for treatment, has requested the government to allow him to operate his bank accounts, which were frozen after his arrest on corruption charges.

President Iajuddin Ahmed yesterday said South Asia has a great development potential in terms of its diverse cultural heritage and human resources as one-fourth of the world population live in this region.

World White Cane Safety Day will be observed today in a bid to raise social awareness among general public to make a smooth movement for the visually handicapped people and to make them more conscious of the white cane as a mobility aid.

Several hundred people including freedom fighters and teachers, students, officials and employees of Rajshahi University yesterday formed a human chain and held a rally demanding immediate arrest and punishment to killers of freedom fighter Sajjad Hossain.

Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) and Indian Border Security Force (BSF) at a sector commander level meeting at Satkhira Circuit House yesterday agreed to work together to contain cross border crimes and solve related problems through talk.

Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) here filed a case with Bhaluka Police Station yesterday accusing three government officials and an industrialist for leasing out 155.39 acres of uncultivable government land violating the official rules.

Brahmanbaria Additional District and Sessions Judge Court, in a verdict pronounced here yesterday, sentenced 10 councillors of Kasba Pourasabha to two years rigorous imprisonment (RI) each, for leasing out 10 shops of a poura market in their names at a very nominal price, resulting in loss of government, court sources said.

A team of journalists of Ekushey Television (ETV) came under attack of a gang of criminals at Gulpukurpar in the town yesterday when they were collecting information on Sumon murder happened in May 2006, police said.

Letters

After the miserable series against the Aussies the Bangladesh cricket team has bounced back gracefully. They comprehensively defeated the Kiwis by seven wickets in the first ODI. More importantly, it was their first win against the black caps.

The main job of the police is to protect the public. This includes protection against crime, maintenance of civil order, enforcement of traffic and other regulations, prevention of alcohol and drug abuse, prevention of neighbourhood disorders, firearms and weapons control, law enforcement and investigations as mandated by the law and requested by the relevant national or local authorities.

To understand why Alaska Governor Sarah Palin will be of little help, a look at what a prominent Alaskan woman thinks about her will be in order. In a column published in The Anchorage Daily News on Sept 16, Alaskan writer Elise Patkotak wrote: "There was a time when I thought John McCain really was a different kind of politician, one who would put the country above his personal desire for grandeur. I stopped thinking that the day he announced Sarah Palin as his running mate. ... Sarah Palin is untested and untried. There were dozens of other people much more qualified to be McCain's running mate who would not have caused people to question how ready they'd be to take over if something happened to McCain. To my mind it is fairly clear that the only reason McCain chose Palin was because she brought in something he desperately needed as the right-wing, conservative Christian base of the Republican voters who view McCain with distrust and distaste.

I would like to bring to the kind notice of the authorities concerned that 200 telephone lines have been out of order only in Gulshan area for the last 7-8 days. When I tried to contact BTCL to lodge a complaint, I was informed that 1200 other lines were affected around Dhaka city in a similar way, which was caused by theft of telephone cables. I was also informed that the lines could not be restored because there was no availability of cables and funds were not allocated for new replacements either.

We must improve the service of our government owned railways, the cheaper and safer way to long distance travelling all over the world. The matter of regret is that the authorities make little effort to improve the railway service in our country. There may be a luxury train side by side the luxury buses.

Needless to say that Mr. Kabir has unnecessarily brought India into the recent US-Pak problems and cautioned India what to expect from the US if it fails to honour the nuclear agreement. I see the Pakistan analogy is wrong and illogical. Even if we assume that Mr. Kabir?s analogy is right, I highly doubt that the US would start bombing some random part of India for violating the nuclear deal. But, if suddenly, Indians start harbouring anti US terrorists in their territory and keep thinking that territorial integrity and sovereignty would save them from US fury, they should think again. Well, who knows, what would happen to that kind of India? I am sure the US will be furious.

I thank Mohammed Zamir for his fine PCP article on this issue. A couple of years ago, I had the good fortune to meet him and discuss with him my book Islamic Calendar: A Global Blueprint which clearly lays out a perfect mathematical lunar calendar based on mere counting of either 29 or 30 days alternately for Islamic months and a provision for a leap month every two years ( with some easily memorable exceptions).

I am extremely thankful to His Excellency, the Ambassador of Thailand to Bangladesh, for kindly responding to my letter on "Thai visa issue" published in DS on 26 September 2008 through his letter on 6 October 2008.

International

Skipping a decision on polls in Jammu and Kashmir, the Election Commission today announced one-day poll in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi and Mizoram while Naxalite-infested Chattisgarh will have two-phased elections between November 14 and December 4.

US military successes in Iraq have forced sophisticated and well-trained insurgents to pour into Afghanistan instead, part of the reason violence has spiked in Afghanistan, the Afghan defence minister said yesterday.

North Korea planned to resume dismantling its nuclear programme Tuesday for the first time in two months, days after the United States removed the communist regime from a terrorism blacklist as a reward under a disarmament pact.

Pakistan is facing a "very serious internal threat" to its integrity as a grouping of al-Qaeda, Taliban and local 'Jihadi' elements wanted to take over the country, Information Minister Sherry Rehman warned yesterday.

Pakistan yesterday threatened to go for third party arbitration if, it said, India does not compensate it for the loss of two million acre feet of water due to an alleged reduction in the flow of the Chenab River.

Georgian and Russian officials are to sit down face-to-face Wednesday for the first time since a five-day war in August, but tensions over the regions at the heart of the conflict threaten to derail the talks in Geneva.

Defying Mayawati's attempts to scuttle her plans, Sonia Gandhi yesterday visited her Lok Sabha constituency calling it her "karma bhoomi" and declaring that she is ready to go to jail for the sake of development.

I recently viewed a Kabuki performance, which was inspiring. Thanks to divine providence, my long cherished desire to get a glimpse of Japanese art, tradition and culture was realised when my parents and I went to the country last year.

Mrittika, a band led by popular singer Mahmuduzzaman Babu, will release its new album titled Manush in December this year. One of the songs of this album, on the Argentine revolutionary Che Guevara, has already drawn the audience's attention. From October 9 (death anniversary of Che), the music video of the song has been on air on different TV channels. The Daily Star talked to Mahmuduzzaman Babu about the song, Mrittika's new album and more.

OP-ED

IT appears that the BNP and its alliance members learnt little from the nation's predicament over the last two years. Since the fall of HM Ershad's autocratic regime, the nation voted the BNP to power twice out of three genuine elections -- in 1991, 1996 and 2001. The AL had a mandate once in 1996. In all new democracies, election year is always a year of political turmoil or brinkmanship. Needless to say, Bangladesh is not an exception.

THOUGH somewhat paradoxical, in the mysterious real world, often successes of failures are as real as failures of successes. This is not a rehash of some philosophical discourses where philosophers speak, paradoxically, and ironically, of "closeness of distance" or "distance of closeness," a la Heidegger. The purpose here is simply to reflect on the alleged failure of the interim government of Bangladesh that took office in January 2007.

WHEN I first heard of the Asian University for Women, I immediately identified with its mission and dream. I had seen too many bright young women in Phnom Penh complain about the low quality of their education, and seen too many girls in rural areas drop out of high school because they didn't see opportunities for higher education even if they graduated. I knew that I wanted to see Cambodian women have access to the kinds of opportunities that I saw possible through AUW.

Star City

Anomalies and flaws in the Detailed Area Plan (DAP) of Dhaka metropolitan area must be rectified through meaningful and comprehensive public consultations for a liveable capital city, said urban experts and environmentalists.

When Mohiuddin Ahmed, a septuagenarian resident of Malibagh, suddenly found a damaged 1969 group picture of his family and cousins, he immediately went to a photo-mender to have prints made for other family members.

Green vegetables and fresh herbs are dangling from the tub. Branches of fruit trees are swaying with the light breeze. Seasonal flowers are giving away sweet fragrance with butterflies fluttering. It is like an oasis in the middle of a concrete jungle.